Description

This short wrought iron trade axe was recovered from the bottom of the French River (Grand Parisien Rapids) along with other fur trade commodities in 1962. There are no maker's mark visible, though the design suggests it might date to the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centurues. The current interpretation for these objects is that they sank to the bottom of the river during canoe accidents. In the fur trade context, axes were sold both to fur traders and to Indigenous individuals and communities in exchange for furs and food.